From Amazon
Three Cheers for Me is the opening salvo of Donald Jack's Bandy Papers, a series of light, silly satires on military life starring a hapless Ontario lad who enlists to battle the Boche for King and Country and, defying both the odds and the social stratification of the British Empire, not only survives but prospers in his new life. The sometime hero of Three Cheers for Me (winner of the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour) is Bartholomew Bandy, a staid minister's son from the Ottawa Valley who's blessed with an unforgettably large, bland, equine face and a world view that excludes such devilish temptations as liquor, women, cursing, and culture. Bandy is initially sent to the trenches, but he acquits himself with such wrongheaded valour that he is not only promoted but also recommended as a prospective pilot for the Royal Flying Corps--anything to get him away from his old commanding officer.
Jack writes broad, shambling farce, a chaotic form of comedy that is well suited to the daily disorder of warfare but less effective when the story returns to the home front and Bandy finds himself amidst the carefully structured madness of the British upper classes. Still, the novel holds together, and even its most unfocused passages break into flights of random, hysterical humour. --Jack Illingworth
Review
“A comical tour de force.”
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
Book Description
It is 1916. Bartholomew Bandy, fourth-year medical student, decides that it is time to join the War. The prim young Canadian expects that he will have few problems remaining clean and virtuous. But he is aware that his bland, horse-like face drives people crazy, and that he has a certain tendency to be accident-prone. How will the war affect him, and vice versa? The realities of trench war at the front provide a contrasting backdrop for his adventures, as he blunders into contact with all sorts of people, both fictional and historical (the King, Lester Pearson, and Winston Churchill). Three Cheers For Me was first published in 1962, to wide critical acclaim. This expanded version first appeared in 1973, to launch the series now known as The Bandy Papers.
From the Back Cover
“A comical tour de force.”
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
About the Author
Donald Jack was born in England and served in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War before coming to Canada. He was known for his film and television scripts, and his plays. He is most widely remembered, however, for The Bandy Papers, a series of comic novels recounting the adventures of a blundering First World War hero who went on to fame and misfortune in the post-war world. The first six books in the series, Three Cheers For Me; That’s Me In The Middle; It’s Me Again; Me Bandy, You Cissie; Me Too and This One’s On Me were recently re-published by McClelland & Stewart. They gained no fewer than three Leacock Awards for Humour and the undying loyalty of Bandy fans everywhere.
Donald Jack passed away in 2003 at the age of 78.
Donald Jack passed away in 2003 at the age of 78.
